1. Overview of Greek Theatre The land The myths The stage

2. The Land Greece has thousands of inhabited islands and dramatic mountain ranges Greece has a rich culture and history Democracy was founded in Greece Patriarchal (male dominated) society Philosophy, as a practice, began in Greece (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle)

3. The Land Located in Europe in the Aegean Sea

4. The Stage

5. Where and how were the dramas performed? …In an amphitheatre …With a chorus who described most of the action. …With masks …With all the fighting and movement going on off stage. ….With tragedy first, then comedy later.

6. The Stage Three Main Portions of Greek Theatre: Skene – Portion of stage where actors performed (included 1-3 doors in and out) Orchestra – “Dancing Place” where chorus sang to the audience Theatron – Seating for audience

7. The Stage Greek plays were performed during religious ceremonies held in honor of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and revelry. Enormous audiences (40,000) –Loud actors with exaggerated movements All actors were men Audience knew the story ahead of time, they came to see emotional acting

8. The Chorus A group of actors who sang and spoke in unison during choral odes Represented a single character What did they do? –Set the mood –Summarized action –Took sides during an argument –Warned of diseaster

9. The Stage

10. Who was Sophocles 1 of three great Greek playwrights Wrote 100 playsLived to be 90 years old Born 496 B.C.Only 7 plays remain Competed against Aeschylus and Euripides Civil servantRegularly entered and won contests with his writing First to add a third actor to his plays

11. Antigone The play is part of a cycle of three plays that together describe several generations of the Cadmus family Cadmus family is cursed by gods –Oedipus will kill his father (king) and marry his mother Eventually he does, his parents die/exile from shame. Oedipus becomes king. When he dies, his 2 son’s split the title, and end up killing each other in a power struggle. They are not given equal respect in death, which creates a conflict.

12. More Antigone Set in Thebes (a city in ancient Greece) Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta Antigone’s brothers, Eteokles and Polyneces, took opposite sides in a war Eteokles and Polyneces killed each other in battle Antigone’s uncle, Kreon, became king of Thebes

13. Copy Only The Boxed Portion!

14. The End